Cornell University, March 21, 1899. 

 Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture, Albany, N. Y. 



Sir: As the dairy industry of the state is developed it 

 becomes of more importance each year that the capacity of the 

 farms to sustain stock be not only maintained, but increased. If 

 the capacity is to be increased, there must be provided some 

 means for storing the roughage or fodder produced on the farm. 

 Of the various forms of roughage, there are none which compare 

 in cheapness of production and value of product, with Indian 

 corn or maize. This crop is becoming the mainstay of the dairy 

 farmer. The question which he has been called upon to decide, 

 is, how this product ma}^ be most economically stored. Of all 

 the methods which have been suggested, the ensilaging of corn 

 seems to most fully preserve its original feeding value. Hitherto, 

 the draw-back to this method of storage, has been the imperfec- 

 tion of silos. With the old square or rectangular forms of con- 

 struction the percentage of waste has been so great that many 

 farmers have hesitated to construct silos. For more than 

 three j^ears we have been carefully studying the points of merit 

 of the stave silo, and it seems to overcome almost entirely the 

 objections which have been made against the square and rectan- 

 gular forms. As the demand for information with reference to 

 the construction of the stave silo has increased each j^ear it has 

 been thought wise to publish in bulletin form, information as to 

 details of construction. This information is, therefore, offered 

 for publication as a bulletin under Chapter 67, Laws of 1898. 



I. P. Roberts, Director. 



